Chicago's ban on video poker games costs state, city

Emanuel continues to push for casino

If Chicago's ban on video poker remains in place, Illinois would lose $63 million to $118 million per year in potential revenue, state forecasts show.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has lobbied for a Chicago casino but has said little about overturning the city's ban. He opposed legalizing video poker in the city during his campaign.

"The mayor has no plans to revisit the city's ban on video gaming at this time," said Tarrah Cooper, Emanuel's press secretary.

When asked if Gov. Pat Quinn was pushing for Chicago to overturn its ban, his spokeswoman, Brooke Anderson, said: "The governor believes that's up to the people of Chicago."

Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, an author of the video poker law, said if the Legislature granted Chicago a casino, the city could address all aspects of its gambling laws at once. But Lang also said the state's Video Gaming Act allows communities to take 5 percent of the profits the games generate locally.

"The city of Chicago needs revenue, and now that video gaming is legal, I would think Chicago would give it some consideration," Lang said. "I can't say whether the mayor would use video gaming as leverage for a casino or not, but I can say it would make sense for them to want to address all gaming issues at once."

Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, the mayor's council floor leader, said the city has not taken up video poker, "because it took the state so long to get its rules, regulations and policies in place."

O'Connor said the city prefers to have a land-based casino and if the Legislature were to allow one in the city, the council then could "determine whether there is enough gaming for our communities, which I think is a separate question at that point."

According to state projections, Chicago's share of video poker proceeds could be $10 million to $20 millionevery year. O'Connor doubted that would be enough to motivate the city to legalize the games.

"I think every dollar counts," he said, but from the beginning, city officials have "thought the trade-off perhaps wasn't worth the paycheck."